spring break......

no bedtimes, no worries, no schedules

a bowling outing

good times were a "rollin"

plenty of strikes and a few spares

amazing what the bumpers can do...

Funny story while bowling:

Being the nice aunt that i am, i was helping my nephew jaxon bowl. well he's only two and doesn't really grasp the point of the game yet, so i helped him roll the ball. instead of watching the ball go down the lane, he takes off after it. well guess who has to take off after him to avoid him being crushed by the pin setter upper thing.yes, that would be me. within a split second(i still have good reflexes considering my age)i take off after him. i'm going to now share with you a little known fact: the actual bowling lane is super duper slippery. yes, who would have known. i lose my balance and my arms are flailing, all the while jaxon is still en route after the ball.i regain my wits and my balance and grab jaxon by the shirt. this spectacle all happening in about 26 seconds but was all slow motion to me. meanwhile tiffany, the mother of jaxon, was roaring in laughter and taking pictures.i guess his life was never really in danger with me on the case. it resulted in some good laughing- the kind that involves tears. after all was said and done i learned that you need to really hold on to a two year old when helping them to bowl.

lauren and i made these cute hair clips



saturday morning we stopped in st. george on the way to cedar city and hit a few balls (the mini golf line was way too long)


we planned on spending the weekend at the cabin but 10 inches of snow got dumped up there, so we stayed in cedar with grandma and grandpa robb. there was still snow on the ground in town.

grandpa robb dug out these fabulous hats for the kids to wear. i think he dug way back to nineteen seventy three to get them.

good times playing in the snow

we were there for easter sunday but the easter bunny still found lauren and jace.

sweeeeeeet

took a drive up to woods ranch to check out all the snow




after watching conference and a ham dinner we headed back home. i think we wore jace out.......

Disneyland- again.

In February we took a little trip down to Disneyland- after all we have to put our annual passes to good use. This trip we mixed it up a bit and took along two extra kids, our nephew Sam and niece Abby, which meant Jason and I would be outnumbered. We all had a great time and everyone behaved themselves quite nicely.

Abby

Lauren

Sam, Jace, Abby and Lauren at Sleeping Beauty's castle

riding the cute little car

Sam and Jace ready to ride Thunder Mountain

Whiplashed on Muholland Madness

Lauren and Abby ready to get wet on the rapids

Abby, Lauren and Sam

The Gang at Paradise Pier

Nice glasses!

In the dark on Pirates

Ready to celebrate!

Mickey wearing his party hat

Riding the double decker bus

Lauren and Abby were complimented by the driver for having such good manners

Tarzan's Treehouse

Dessert at California Pizza Kitchen

Nice face Jace!

Ahhhh AhhhAhhh

That's supposed to be the noise Tarzan makes.....

Sam and Abby on Peter Pan

So you see it was a fun little trip for all. Jason said that if we asked a stranger which two kids they thought belonged to us they would most likely pick Sam and Abby over our own. So true!! Can't wait to go back....... maybe next month......

What's That Smell?

Track break. A time where a kid can be free from the worries of institutionalized learning, unfair bedtimes and the ugly four headed beast called homework. Parents also tend to relax their demands during this time. At least as a mom I tend to get beaten down a little easier, well, with all the asking and begging it's hard not to. A few weeks ago we experienced one of these "trackbreaks" and from it sprung a little tale:


Frequent bodily cleansing is not a strong point for Jace. He must be reminded several times of this task and at times must be escorted to the shower. Having taken a shower Sunday morning he knew he was entitled to a few days before this annoyance was to be repeated. Sure enough Tuesday evening I requested that he take a shower, after all he had been playing outside all day and I had even spied him rolling around on the asphalt. I must of gotten busy and then it got late. "Just take one in the morning" became my final request. Wednesday came and went and once again Jace had succeeded in eluding his hygienic task. Thursday night I was attending to some important homework on the computer (or maybe it was Facebook) when Jace came into the office wearing his oversized t-shirt he regards as pajamas. With all the weak enforcement I could muster up I begged "Jace you HAVE got to shower tonight, that is just gross!" Then Jace looked at me smiling and announced "Mom, I'm still wearing my church socks from Sunday!" I looked to his feet in horror and sure enough his navy blue socks were still enveloped around his feet. At that moment I knew that I had failed him that week as a parent, but as I looked up at his huge grin and the pride in his eyes, I knew that he had succeeded at being an eight year old boy.

He didn't shower that night, I didn't have the heart. Late Friday afternoon when necessity set in and we had a party to attend, the issue was forced and Jace finally showered. He did have a good run though and I'm sure he enjoyed every minute of it!

The infamous blue socks

HE'S BA-AACK!!

One day at a time, two years have come to pass. My brother Robert, a.k.a. "Elder Nelson" has returned from his mission in Nicaraqua. Yes I do have a brother, some of you may be questioning that fact, it's true. Robert actually began his life as my cousin but my parents ended up adopting him a few years ago and now I have a brother. So there! The family and some friends congregated at baggage claim to greet him back from this great feat. He looked the same, though two years older and two years wiser. There were nieces and nephews he'd never seen there to meet him for the first time. Jace and Lauren were so excited and both even teared up a bit when he arrived. We are just proud to have him as part of our family!

Everyone patiently awaiting Robert's arrival

Robert and Lauren

Proud parents

Jace, Robert and Lauren

CrAZy hAiR DaY!!

iT WaS CraZy HaiR DaY aT SchOoL ToDaY.......

LaUreN HaS MuLTiPLe PonyTaILs PUllEd INtO ONE-WhIcH AcTuALLy TuRnEd OuT PReTTy CuTE- AcCEnTed WiTh PiNk AnD GrEEn HaIrSPrAy

JaCE CHoSe A CLaSSic MoHAwK WIth GrEEn TipS

Christmas 2009

Christmas waves a magic wand over this world, and behold, everything is softer and more beautiful.

~Norman Vincent Peale

















What better way to start off the week of Christmas then to visit the atrium at Bellagio. It is so perfectly decorated and pulls you right into the Christmas spirit. Even better is getting to enjoy it with our friends, the Hollingsworth's.

Lauren and Jace with a larger than life Frosty the Snowman



Lauren, Jace, Abi and Lexi adoring the mirrored stacked presents

Lauren and Abi by the ginormous live Christmas tree

This cute polar bear's fur is made from carnations

Another carnation polar bear that actually drips water as if it has just stepped out of the pool of sparkling water

After Bellagio we stopped by the Fashion Show to go to Macy's and mail our letters to Santa

Christmas Eve:

• a nice dinner at Mezzo, an Italian bistro
• baking chocolate chip cookies for Santa
• opening ONE present and big surprise it's pajamas!!
• eating a few cookies with some Christmas punch called Kinderpunsch (i think it's German and it was pretty good and festive)
• leaving Santa a plate of cookies with some Kinderpunsch and a couple of carrots for the reindeer

Christmas Day:

Seven o clock came pretty early. It was apparent as the kids ran down the stairs that indeed Santa had stopped in. Even after all the phone calls I had to make to him, he had in the end decided that Lauren and Jace were deserving of remaining on the "nice" list. Paper ripped, boxes torn and presents revealed.

Jace with some of his presents

Lauren with her cute Hollister shirt

Then, as if, that wasn't enough we headed over to Grandma and Grandpa Nelson's. Once again the kids scored.

Lauren looking sassy in her new outfit

did grandma really wrap her present in that bag??

Maybe that was supposed to be mine!!!!

This year our fantabulous family lunch took place at Del Taco. There's something for everyone!

As you can see the boys are enjoying it!



The girls like it too!

Thanks Grandma and Grandpa for lunch!!

After lunch we went to visit with Jason's sister and her family
Lauren and her cousin Abby

and a visit with Grandma and Grandpa

Lauren and me

Jace and Jason

That night when hunger struck we decided to carry on our tradition from last year and have dinner in the food court at Aliante Station. This years dinner of choice: none other than Panda Express!! My philosophy is nobody should have to cook on Christmas!!(well i guess except the workers at del taco and panda!!!)

It's unsettling, really, to know that Christmas has waved it's frosty hand good-bye. There was so much invested with the garland , the tree, the cookies, and presents. How is it that we can just pack it away in the garage and do it all over again the next year? Because we love it!

So we all survived another Christmas, stored a few more memories and had a few more laughs.

THE END!!